Despite giving up five runs in five innings Monday, Robert Gsellman definitely showed signs of improvement. He got his first win of the season and when he did record outs, they were usually on the ground due to a sinker with better movement and velocity than earlier this season.
“It’s coming along,” Gsellman told reporters after the game. “It’s still a work in progress.”
Still a work in progress indeed, as he saw his ERA rise to 6.75 on the season. Gsellman, who went 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA last season, is absolutely capable of pitching better than he has so far in 2017. He has yet to show he has the stuff he had late last season, but this start was promising due to his increased fastball velocity and sharper movement on his pitches. He still needs to improve his command, though, before he can be as effective as he was last year.
Don’t let the box score fool you – Yes, he only walked one person, but command and control are two different things. Control is the ability to throw strikes and not walk people, but command is the ability to put the ball where you want and make it move like you want it to. Throwing the ball over the plate is not enough, as evidenced by his start last night. It doesn’t matter how hard you throw or how much it moves. If you throw the ball over the middle of the plate, Major League hitters will hit it.
Until Gsellman can get the command he had late last season, he will likely continue to struggle. However, some pitchers get better as the season goes along and Gsellman could very well fall under that category. The more he pitches, the better feel he will get of his repertoire and the better command he will have. Monday night’s game was a step in the right direction. His next time out, we could very well see the Gsellman we were lucky enough to stumble upon last season.
